Esty: A Woman Of Principle In The 5th District

The Courant editorial board is endorsing Elizabeth Esty, not Chris Donovan in the Democratic primary in the 5th Congressional District.

The Courant editorial board is endorsing Elizabeth Esty, not Chris Donovan in the Democratic primary in the 5th Congressional District. (Hartford Courant)

EDITORIAL

The challenges facing the next Congress are abundant. Members have to find ways to spur economic growth, but not at the expense of the environment. They must tax fairly and not waste money. They must start working together.

In the Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District, the candidate who is most likely to reach these goals is Elizabeth Esty.

The Courant endorses her in the Aug. 14 primary; our endorsement in the general election will appear in the fall.

Why Ms. Esty?

Ms. Esty, 52, of Cheshire, has been a lawyer and teacher and served on the Cheshire town council and in the General Assembly. She is an independent thinker and a woman of principle. For example, she voted against the death penalty, which for a legislator from Cheshire shortly after the horrific murders in the town was a career-ending decision.

Ms. Esty is a political moderate with a sense of personal and fiscal responsibility. She would, for example, cut congressional pay by 5 percent and not raise it until the budget is balanced.

She would kill two birds with one stone by encouraging jobs in the clean energy industry and working to re-establish the state's manufacturing base. In short, Ms. Esty would bring strength of character and well-thought-out positions to Congress, neither of which are in oversupply.

The Others

Ms. Esty is opposed by Daniel Roberti, 30, of Kent and Christopher Donovan, 58, of Meriden. Mr. Roberti, while he has done some interesting things, does not yet have the kind of resume it takes to start one's career in elective office in Congress. He is the son of former state Rep. Vin Roberti, a major Washington lobbyist and political fundraiser.

In Mr. Donovan's case, years of exposure in the legislature — he is the outgoing House speaker — have left serious questions about his judgment. His campaign is under the cloud of a federal criminal investigation. His former finance director, Robert Braddock Jr., and campaign manager, Joshua Nassi, have been arrested, along with six others. They are charged with conspiring to take illegal contributions from owners of roll-your-own tobacco shops, who thought they were buying influence with Mr. Donovan.

Mr. Donovan says he was unaware of any wrongdoing in his campaign. Even if one presumes Mr. Donovan's innocence, he failed to properly monitor his campaign and used bad judgment in picking an out-of-state hired gun he didn't know, Mr. Braddock, for the key finance post.

This is not the only example of poor judgment on Mr. Donovan's part. He should not have remained House speaker while he was running for Congress; it made him a target for potential influence buyers. He should not have served on the redistricting committee drawing the congressional district in which he planned to run (he finally left the committee under growing pressure).

Mr. Donovan, a former union representative, has remained a steadfast union loyalist. When the Senate passed a bill last year that would have stopped the onerous practice of pension-padding by working overtime shifts, Mr. Donovan did not call the bill in the House. He said it was a bargaining chip to get the unions to agree to the concessions agreement proposed by Gov.Dannel P. Malloy. We think most taxpayers would like to see this stupid waste of money ended.

Giving Mr. Donovan his due, he has a good voting record in many areas. But, considering the scandal clouding his office, he should do his party's cause a favor and withdraw from the race.